All Badgers

Badgers mega donor says Wisconsin football budget will jump up to 'Top 1/3' next season

Athletic director Chris McIntosh promised more investment into Wisconsin Badgers football moving forward. One of the program's top donors says the money will be there to spend more on football next year.
Lorin Cox|
Sep 2, 2023; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell (left) is is greeted by Milwaukee businessman and philanthropist Ted Kellner while leaving the field after a game against the Buffalo Bulls at Camp Randall Stadium.
Sep 2, 2023; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell (left) is is greeted by Milwaukee businessman and philanthropist Ted Kellner while leaving the field after a game against the Buffalo Bulls at Camp Randall Stadium. | USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

In this story:

Wisconsin Badgers

Athletic director Chris McIntosh promised more investment into Wisconsin Badgers football moving forward.

One of the program's top donors says the money will be there to spend more on football next year.

Philanthropist Ted Kellner has put millions of dollars into Wisconsin athletics over the years, and he's well aware of the program's financial situation.

He was a guest this week on ESPN Milwaukee, and he made it clear that the Badgers won't be falling behind on their football budget next year.

Sign Up For the Wisconsin Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Wisconsin Badgers Newsletter

"We did not operate with the same budget everybody else did," Kellner said. "Our budget this next year for football will put us in the top third. We were well below that this year, financially."

His message is a good sign for the future but also a major concern for the present.

It shows that McIntosh is serious about his commitment to invest in Wisconsin football, but it also reveals some negligence in how little funding Luke Fickell and his staff were getting up to this point.

Related: Barry Alvarez doesn't think Wisconsin Badgers need turnaround: 'This is not a rebuild'

"To be competitive, you need resources, and we didn't have the resources others did last year," Kellner said. "Next year, I think we will be, which will be one of the contributing factors as to why I think we will be much more competitive next year."

That helps explain some (but not all) of the team's struggles on the field over the last season and a half, and it definitley raises expectations for them to return to more success in 2026 and beyond.

More Wisconsin Badgers News:

Published
Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

Home/Football